HÀ NỘI – Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has urged ministries, sectors and localities to take more drastic measures to enhance the country’s management in the remaining months of the year in order to achieve the 2016 socio-economic development targets.

During the Government’s monthly meeting on Saturday, which focused on ways to promote exports and accelerate the disbursement of public investment capital, the PM said that in order to ensure a growth rate of 6.3-6.5 per cent for the whole 2016, growth in the fourth quarter must register 7.3 per cent.

He also underlined the need to continue ensuring macro-economic stability and implementing financial tools to keep the year’s inflation within 5 per cent. He said relevant agencies must keep close watch on changes of domestic prices and take measures to manage them, especially those of essential commodities, to avoid goods hoarding and rising prices at the end of the year.

The consumer price index (CPI) in October increased by 0.83 per cent from the previous month, a year-on-year rise of 4.09 per cent. The CPI and economic growth for the year are set to reach 4.7-5 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively.

Attention should also be paid to reforming credit and supporting enterprises in accessing capital, and consideration should be given to lowering interest rates, the PM stressed.

The PM asked ministries, sectors and localities to speed up disbursement of loans and investments and to promote tax collection, speed up administrative reform in terms of tax and customs, and reduce expenditures.

He urged stronger efforts to promote agricultural development and new-style rural area building, effectively overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, and to respond to others like saline intrusion and drought in the future.

He noted that the agriculture sector would need to effectively control food security and prevent the use of banned substances in animal breeding and of counterfeit plant-protection substances.

Appropriate solutions should be devised to address difficulties facing enterprises, foster start-ups and accelerate restructuring of State-owned enterprises, he said.

The PM called for strengthened investment promotion by boosting links between global groups and Vietnamese enterprises.

The enforcement of the Việt Nam- Eurasia Economic Union Free Trade Agreement in October opened opportunities for Vietnamese exports from now to the end of the year, said Minister of Industry and Trade Trần Tuấn Anh.

Việt Nam recently climbed to 82nd place among 190 economies in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 report, up nine notches from the 91st place last year. That was an encouraging progress, he said.

Though many sub-indexes increased significantly, some others declined from the previous report, including dealing with construction permits, getting credit, starting a business and registering property.

The PM requested ministries and sectors to find out the causes of these problems and work out countermeasures.

He highlighted the rising number of new businesses, at 92,000 at present, and predicted it would likely surpass 100,000 this year. More than 20,000 companies resumed operations since the beginning of 2016, also illustrating confidence in the market and the steering of the Government.

However, PM Phuc warned that ministries would have to make preparations from now so that economic growth in Q1 of 2017 would not slow down as it had for many years.

He stressed Việt Nam aimed to have its investment climate comparable to that of the four other ASEAN countries of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines in 2017.

During the meeting Cabinet members proposed numerous measures to expand the export of agro and fishery products in the remaining months of 2016 and the first months of 2017, stressing the need to focus on potential markets.
They also suggested improving competitiveness of rubber, coffee and garment-textile enterprises.

Burning issues

Also on Saturday, a press conference was held after the monthly Government meeting with representatives from ministries and departments explaining burning issues, including the recruitment and promotion of officials at central and grass-root levels.

Vietnam News Agency asked about Government inspections in the northern province of Hải Dương’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DoLISA), which reportedly has a total of 44 management officials but only two clerks.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (MoHA) Trần Anh Tuấn, said in response that the ministry issued an urgent decision on October 24 to undertake surprise inspections on the implementation of laws and regulations in the recruitment of civil servants and their promotions in the department.

The PM also ordered the ministry to strictly punish violators, according to Tuấn.

Tuấn said the Prime Minister had authorised the MoHA to clarify media and public reports on the rampant abuse of power in recruitment and appointment of top officials causing a surplus of employees in some localities.

The deputy minister said the MoHA would not only inspect the Hải Dương Province DoLISA but also other ministerial, provincial and local authorities.

Speaking on the issues related to the Việt Nam Standards and Consumers Association (Vinastas), Tuấn said the Ministry was working with the Ministry of Public Security pending the conclusion of the inter-agency inspection team on misleading information issued by the association regarding fish sauce safety, Tuấn said.

Based on the inspection results and the seriousness of violations, the ministry will decide on sanctions along with relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Justice, according to Tuấn.

Speaking about wrong doings by former Minister of Industry and Trade Minister Vũ Huy Hoàng, Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tiến Dũng said the the Central Committee’s Inspection Commission had announced the type of discipline for his violations related to personnel recruitment, transfer and appointment.

Hoàng transferred and appointed Trịnh Xuân Thanh and some other officials without following the rules, procedures as well as criteria and conditions. Dũng said a decision on whether to prosecute it would have to be based on Party rules, legislation and laws.-VNS